Privacy Policy
Last Updated: August 11, 2026
Gopher Tortoise Watch is operated by Conservancy Watch, LLC, doing business as Gopher Tortoise Watch (“Gopher Tortoise Watch,” “the App,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). Gopher Tortoise Watch is a citizen science platform that helps volunteers, community reviewers, and researchers record and review gopher tortoise sightings, burrows, and habitat conditions.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and the choices you have regarding your information.
Information We Collect
- Account Information: Your name, email address, optional phone number, and an encrypted password.
- Observation Data: Photos, notes, species, life stage, health, burrow status, habitat information, and GPS location.
- Location Data: Coordinates are recorded only when you submit an observation.
- Operational Data: Your user role, such as Observer, Community Reviewer, or Administrator, and activity timestamps.
How We Use Your Information
- Store and display your observations.
- Support conservation research and community review.
- Respond to messages sent through Contact Us.
- Send account related emails such as password resets.
- Protect the security and integrity of the App.
- Operate, maintain, and improve Gopher Tortoise Watch.
- Screen and moderate user submitted photos to help protect individual privacy and maintain appropriate content within the App.
We do not sell your personal information or use it for advertising or cross app tracking.
Photo Screening and Moderation
To help protect the privacy of bystanders, every uploaded photo is automatically screened on our servers to detect whether a person may appear in the image, including the possible presence of a face, hand, arm, leg, or other visible part of a person.
This automated screening is performed entirely within our own infrastructure. Photos are not sent to a third party or external service for this screening.
If a photo appears to contain a person, it is withheld from public display and community review until it can be reviewed by an administrator.
We do not use facial recognition to identify individuals, and this screening process does not create or store biometric identity data.
Objectionable Content and User Submitted Photos
We screen and moderate user submitted photos to help maintain a safe and appropriate environment for Gopher Tortoise Watch. Users may also report content that they believe is inappropriate or violates our guidelines.
Photos that violate our guidelines, are reported for review, or appear to contain people may be withheld from public display pending human review. Content that violates our guidelines may be removed.
Location Privacy
Exact locations of sensitive species and burrows are protected.
Users who do not own an observation and are not authorized reviewers see only generalized locations. Exact coordinates are visible only to the observation owner, authorized reviewers, and administrators.
Data Sharing
De identified observation data may be shared with conservation organizations, research institutions, and wildlife agencies to support gopher tortoise conservation.
Your personal contact information is never shared for research purposes.
Conservancy Watch, LLC may use trusted service providers, including cloud hosting and email providers, as necessary to operate and maintain Gopher Tortoise Watch. These providers may process information only as necessary to provide services supporting the App.
Data Retention
Your information is retained while your account remains active or as needed to support conservation research.
If you delete your account, your personal profile and associated observations are permanently removed.
Your Rights
- View and edit your profile.
- Edit your observations.
- Export your observations as a CSV file.
- Permanently delete your account and associated data.
Age Requirement
You must be at least 18 years old to create a Gopher Tortoise Watch account. By creating an account, you certify that you are at least 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.
Security
We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) and hashed password storage, to protect your information.
No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, and absolute security cannot be guaranteed.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected by updating the “Last Updated” date on this page.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or Gopher Tortoise Watch’s privacy practices, please contact:
Conservancy Watch, LLC
Doing Business As Gopher Tortoise Watch
Email: privacy@gophertortoisewatch.com
